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Home     TOC Previous Next         Root Quest English may not prove to be Greek and Latin, but it has considerable number of derivatives from these two languages. Many of you must be aware that the phrase "Greek and Latin" is used when one is unable to understand the language or any communication. It is as good as gibberish. A large number of English words have been derived from Latin Greek and French languages. Going back to the roots of the words makes interesting exercise. This is one sure and fascinating way to build your word power.  So, as you probe and explore the roots of the words, English will become less Greek and Latin for you - I mean you experience a significant progress in your understanding and usage of the language. How will learning the roots help me improve my word power? That's a good one. If you have a probing mind, then getting to know the origins or roots of the words is no more a mere learning exercise. It is more than that. How?  Learning new words and their meanings is not difficult,  but remembering them may be a problem.  First and foremost, root-quest (search for roots) is a thought-provoking exercise, which ensures retention of the word or words in the mind. In other words once you are focussed on the words and its roots then the scope to retain them in your memory becomes greater.  Here are a few words with their roots:   1. He was too diffident to express his inner feelings Diffident means lacking faith in oneself, shy, modest.  The root is fid from latin word fidere, which means to trust.  The words, confident and confidence also has the same roots. 2.You will be punished if you contravene laws of the land. Contravene means violate or break laws, act contrary to rules and regulations.  The word has two roots i.e. contra means against and ven which is a root of venere means to come.  There are many words formed from ven and vent like convene, convention, invent and invention.  A few examples of prefixes with their roots The Archaeology department has excavated antiques dating back to 12th century. Archaeology is the study of ancient people and their culture.  The suffix Arch(a)eo, Archa(e) is a Greek derivative which means Old. Archaic also means belonging to an earlier time; old fashioned; language of earlier times. Besides this, there are also other commonly used prefixes like  Mega -big or large (for example Megalith- big or large stone); Micro-small ( Microscopic organism);  Poly-many ( Polyglot- a person who knows many languages) and Omni- all ( Omnipotent-all powerful)  A few examples of suffixes Arch or Archy is a Greek derivative which means ruler,rule Anarchy : Lack of rule, disorder Oligarchy: Rule by a few Plutocracy: Rule by wealth Ology is derived from Logos, which means study Entomology: Study of insects Etymology: Science dealing with origin and study of development of words   You now have an idea about the potential of root based approach to  increase your word power.  WordMentor's Root-quest will take you  through exciting and fun-filled exercises  which will help you accumulate a  wealth of vocabulary in the easiest and  shortest possible way...order now     WordMentor Advantage Previous Next